We spent more than 28 hours researching electric blankets for this website.

Our aim is to be different: We're not just trawling the internet for reviews and summarizing them for you, instead, everything we recommend here is hand-picked.

There has been a lot of talk about the power of aggregated sentiment analysis, which is how most comparison websites claim to build their picks, but we don't think this is the right approach.

Product picks made by machine end up with a lot of problems: Just check the leading shopping comparison websites for a sample.

Nothing can beat an intelligent reviewer with a careful, painstaking selection process, and that is what we are doing.

Each electric blanket that we recommend goes through several stages of editorial review, to make sure you only end up with the good stuff. We're looking for the best five items for the typical user, and to find these, we are weighing hundreds of factors, and mixing it all together with a bit of common sense.

This is more affordable than a lot of other full-size electric blankets on the market; and the neutral, creamy fleece is soothing, and unlikely to clash with even the most demanding of color schemes.

Cons

Customer service needs improvement. Plush blanket lovers will find this to be too thin.

Our Verdict

This is an attractive product for your eyes and wallet. If you want a blanket that covers your whole bed, but doesn't cost more than your bed, this is a good one. Follow the safety tips to maximize blanket life.

This is a smaller throw, rather than a full-size blanket, which makes it both affordable, and easier to haul off your bed. Heat up on the couch, in your home office, or wherever life takes you.

Cons

If you are Princess and the Pea prone, you'll notice the stiff cords in this blanket instantly. Fleece can pill after several washes.

Our Verdict

Great for throwing over the end of your bed or snuggling into an armchair, it also comes in appealing colors. Four-heat control settings, and a four-hour auto shut-off, makes this low-budget option desirable.

For older people, or those with health problems, this soft heated blanket helps soothe aches and pains, all with one easy to use controller. It automatically adjusts to the room's temperature.

Cons

Where occasional problems have occurred, the manufacturers’ customer service is a little obstructive and unhelpful.

Our Verdict

This affordable throw is just one of Sunbeam’s impressive-bordering-on-bewildering range of products, available in a variety of fabrics, weights, and degrees of softness. A three-hour shut-off feature reassures safety use.

What you Need to Know Before You Buy: Staying Safe with Electric Blankets

When we reviewed the products above, we found too many users reporting scary-sounding fire hazard experiences. Is this the fault of shoddy products, or user error?

To answer this question, Good Housekeeping had their Textiles Director put on a white coat, while saying "you shouldn’t cram electrical wiring under your mattress" because "you can inhibit the electricity".

Among the pretty obvious safety tips here, there is some important advice for diabetics living with neuropathy (and the same goes for people with poor circulation): electric blankets are not for you.

At the 0:39 mark there’s a useful review of a product, that automatically adjusts according to the temperature in the room. Oh wait, that's our number five pick they're talking about!

The lesson learned here? Always be aware when using an electrical blanket. When it feels too hot, turn it off, and contact the manufacturer.

Remote Control Electric Blankets

We’re big fans of electrical products, and we're also big fans of DIY-ing your own electronics. There’s nothing we love more than taking a week to work around a problem so #firstworld, that other people wouldn’t even notice it.

Speaking of first world problems, here’s a man who came up with the idea to control his electric blanket with his computer. Out of all the crazy ideas that have passed through our brain the last decade, this was not one of them. So we're intrigued.

What's the objective here? He wants to be able to switch on his electric blanket remotely, so the blanket can preheat before he even makes it home.

For the love of bed – supreme ruler of all things soft and cosy – do not do this. The idea, though awesome, is very hazardous.

Do not – please – hack an electrical product whose entire raison d’etre is heating things, so that you can make it come on in an empty house. Don’t do it to your toaster. Don’t do it to your straightener. And please, please don’t do it to your electric blanket. Your local fire department will thank you.

Let's Get Technical: How Does an Electric Blanket Work

Think of an electric blanket as a big, flexible Pop Tart. The hot part is on the inside, where a network of insulated wires heat up when a current passes through them.

The blanket itself, like the delicious crust of a Pop Tart, is available in a variety of colors and with your choice of extras. Unfortunately, they do not taste like Pop Tarts.

The range of electric blankets available is as huge and bewildering as the grocery condiment aisle. Your choice of blanket, and the price you pay for it, depends on what you’re looking for.

If you’re all about comfort, you probably want a blanket with carbon fiber wires, as these are thinner and more flexible around the body, than the bulky wires in most older blankets. However, if you just want a blanket to heat up in bed before you sleep, that’s going to be less of a priority for you.

Similarly, you could save money by opting for a heated throw, rather than a full sized blanket. Unless you’re particularly weeny, you won’t find one of these throws big enough to cover you.

Though it should work well as a bonus over the top of your bed, or on the couch, to keep your Netflix and chill from getting too, well, chilly.

Nearly all the products we're listed in our top five utilize these carbon fibers. The best thing about them is that heat easily penetrates clothing, and uses less energy. Whatever saves us money and energy, makes us very happy.

The idea and concept for the electric blankets were developed back in 1912, however they were not really introduced to the American public until the late 1930's.

Are Electric Blankets That Safe to Use

Before you or your loved ones fall soundly asleep under a heavy, electrified product, what you really need to know is that it’s safe. So, is it?

Everything in life is a health risk, right? Depending on who you ask, the answer is yes. And those who say yes will then tell you that electrical blankets can cause cancer.

How is that even possible?

Well, electric blankets produce low frequency electromagnetic fields. Now, all those big words do not spell 'cancer'. There's actually little evidence of cancer in children or adults, associated with electromagnetic fields, at this frequency.

There are other health implications you should be aware of. If you’re a man, you could be reducing your chance of having kids by sleeping under an electric blanket, just as you would by wearing tight underwear all the time.

On a related note, if you’re pregnant you should also take care when using an electric blanket, as overheating can be dangerous to a fetus - and to babies too, so don’t ever use an electric blanket as bedding in a baby’s cot. Besides, many professionals agree, keep your newborn's crib empty.

As for fire safety, you should take this topic more seriously. An estimated 5,000 fires start in the UK because of faulty electric blankets, every year.

As a general rule, the newer your blanket is, the less likely it is to burn your house down, mostly because newer models feature many safety features.

That’s partly because electrical products naturally become worn and damaged over time. Don’t ever use a product with an exposed or broken cord.

If you buy a new blanket, and avoid stupidity, like bundling the whole thing into the washing machine, or crushing the wires beneath your mattress. It should give you many years of reliable warmth without turning you , and your loved ones to toast.

The concept was pretty simple, give people an easy and affordable way to help keep themselves warm in the winter. These older versions were not nearly as advanced as the models that are currently on the market.

If your current electric blanket is over a few years old then you are really missing out on the upgrades of technology. The best electric blankets now on the market are better made, more efficient and far more comfortable.

One of the main reasons that they are better made is the fact that they are now made with just 24 volts. Years ago they were made using either 110 or 240 volts which meant a lot of electricity was being pulled just to keep you heated during the night and it was not helping you save any money.

This is really something that you should consider. Do not just simply grab one out of the cheap electric blankets out there.

Another reason to upgrade your old electric blanket is that the new versions are far more comfortable. First off they are incorporating a new wiring system that is made from carbon fiber. This means that the wiring mechanism is not as stiff or as hard and unbending as the ones manufactured years ago.

The blankets themselves are also made with better materials such as fleece which makes them much more comfortable.

The new electric blankets that are available for sale on the market also have far more options available for you to choose from.

Most of the older versions only have high, medium and low to choose from and that is no longer the case. In fact some of the electric blankets available today have very well thought out remote controls.

For example, some models give you an automatic setting function. This means that you can preprogram the controls so that the blanket will turn on automatically at a time of your choosing.

By being able to set a timer for the blanket to turn on automatically means you will no longer have to climb into a freezing cold bed.

These remotes also allow you to have them shut off after a predetermined time.

This is a great backup system so you don't leave the blanket on all day wasting electricity.

Another option that may also intrigue you, especially if you share your bed, is that many of the best electric blankets now have two different systems built into them. That means that each of you can separately determine how warm your side of the bed will be.

Another of the most important reasons to upgrade your electric blanket is for safety reasons.

If your old blanket is getting near the 10 year mark chances are that the components are beginning to wear thin and the blanket is now becoming unsafe and a possible fire hazard. The newer models are considered to be much more safe because of the new wiring systems.

With winter on its way, now is the time for you to start thinking about upgrading your blanket by getting the best electric blanket there is.

The newer models have many more heating options to choose from and they are far more comfortable and safer than the earlier models. Getting into a bed that is already warm is a great way to get to sleep faster and remain comfortable all night.

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